Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Launches Patient Care Network

Announces First Member is Avera Health of South Dakota

Center City, MN (August 2, 2017)—The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation announced today the launch of its new Patient Care Network—the first of its kind in the addiction treatment industry—with the highly respected Avera Health system of South Dakota as its first member.

"The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has a long history and culture of knowledge-sharing with individuals and organizations," said Bob Poznanovich, the Executive Director of Business Development for the national nonprofit addiction treatment provider, "and we are pleased to have a leading-edge provider like Avera Health as the first member of this important new initiative."

"Avera Health and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation have had a longstanding relationship, and we are looking forward to a fruitful new collaboration to meet the increasingly complex needs of our substance use disorder patients," said Matthew Stanley, DO, Vice President of the Avera Behavioral Health Clinical Service Line. "Working together like this will enable us to address the pressing requirements of our community and patients in a more strategic and effective way."

Members like Avera of the Hazelden Betty Ford Patient Care Network will gain access to tools, resources and collaborative consultation for their organization's leadership, staff, patients, families and communities. This is especially timely as the opioid crisis places added pressures on hospital systems, substance use disorder treatment providers, primary acute mental health providers and other specialty providers across the country. Learn more about the Patient Care Network.

"Our experience, knowledge and expertise uniquely position us as a 'Center of Excellence' to create wide clinical alliances and share our expertise with other innovative health care systems like Avera," said Poznanovich. "This exciting program allows us to team up to help more people and better meet the needs of today's changing health care world. It builds on our position as a leader in the industry by taking the best of what we do and who we are and sharing it with like-minded organizations that have the same philosophy and commitment to treating patients and improving treatment outcomes."

Poznanovich noted that the Patient Care Network will also allow Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation patients to more easily and readily connect with other care providers throughout the country after leaving the Foundation's treatment programs. Long-term engagement with care is a key aspect of improved outcomes for patients with substance use disorders.

About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation's leading nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care to help youth and adults reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children's program, and is the nation's leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter@hazldnbettyford.

About Avera Health
Avera Health is an integrated health system based in Sioux Falls, S.D., serving South Dakota and surrounding areas of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. Avera employs 17,000 at 330 locations that include 34 hospitals, 210 primary and specialty care clinics, and 40 senior living facilities in addition to home care and hospice, sports and wellness facilities, home medical equipment outlets and more. Avera offers 60 medical specialties with signature patient care programs including oncology, bone marrow transplant, cardiology, abdominal organ transplant, orthopedics, gastroenterology and behavioral health. As a health care ministry, Avera carries on the legacy of the Benedictine and Presentation Sisters, delivering care in an environment guided by values of compassion, hospitality and stewardship. Learn more at Avera.org.

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and
communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation's largest
nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding
of the Betty Ford Center. With 17 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York,
Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery
solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults.